Curtain poles for corner windows and L-shaped rooms
Two windows meeting on a corner, or one window that turns it, and every straight pole in the catalogue stops short. There are three ways to take a curtain round a corner. This guide says which suits which curtain, and how to measure the corner so the pole arrives bent to the right angle.
A straight pole needs a finial and a bracket at each end, and an internal corner gives you neither on the inside. Hang two ordinary poles and they collide in the corner, or stop short of it and leave a gap of bare glass exactly where two windows meet. The corner is not a problem to be worked around; it is a shape to be measured, and then either bent to or stopped at. Here is how we approach it.
Three ways to take a curtain round a corner
Each one is a different answer to the same question: does the curtain need to cross the corner, or stop at it?
A corner pole
One 19mm metal pole bent to your angle, supplied in two pieces with a bracket at the corner, so the curtain runs round it in a single line. Made to the two wall lengths.
Cameron Fuller French / Corner pole, from £136.95 with finials, brackets and rings.
A bendable track
An aluminium track bent by hand on site to follow the corner, wall or ceiling fixed, gliders running smoothly round the bend. The hardware disappears and the curtain leads.
Cameron Fuller System 30 Bendable, rated to 10kg per metre.
Two straight poles
One stock pole on each wall, each stopping short of the corner with a single finial at the outer end. Two independent curtains that meet in the corner when closed. The quickest and the least expensive.
Any pole in the poles collection, cut to length.
Which one, for which curtain?
Start with the curtain, not the hardware. If one curtain, or one pair, needs to draw across the corner, the pole must be continuous: a bent corner pole fitted with passing brackets, or a track. Rings travel past a passing bracket and round the bend, and gliders on a track do the same. If two curtains can meet in the corner and draw away from it, two straight poles do the job with nothing made to measure.
Two headings change the answer. Eyelet curtains cannot pass any bracket, including the one in the corner, so with eyelets the choice is two straight poles or a track and a different heading. And heavy interlined curtains on a wide corner want either a track, which carries 10kg per metre when bracketed properly, or a pole with more brackets than the minimum. Our pole diameter and curtain weight guide and heading styles guide cover both.
| You want | Corner pole | Bendable track | Two straight poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| The curtain to draw across the corner | Yes, with passing brackets | Yes | No, the curtains stop at the corner |
| Eyelet curtains | No | No (eyelets need a pole) | Yes |
| The hardware to be seen | Yes, with finials at the outer ends | No, the track is meant to disappear | Yes |
| Heavy interlined curtains | Yes, with extra brackets on a long run | Yes, 10kg per metre | Yes, sized per pole |
| Stock, delivered in 2 to 5 days | No, made to measure in 5 to 10 | Yes, bent on site | Yes |
| A corner that is not 90° | Yes, bent to your angle | Yes, bent on site | Yes, with an angled gap at the join |
Measuring a corner window
Five measurements, in this order. The same ones we ask for before a corner pole is made.
- Fix the height. Decide the line the pole or track will sit on, usually 12 to 15cm above the frame, and mark it on both walls with a spirit level. Two windows on a corner are often set at slightly different heights; the pole must run level, so work from the higher frame.
- Measure each wall separately. With a steel tape, measure along the marked line from the corner to where the pole should end on the left wall, then the same on the right wall. Two numbers, A and B, never a diagonal across the room. Include the overhang past the frame at the outer ends.
- Note the angle. Most internal corners are 90°, but old houses and extensions are not always square. Press a sheet of paper into the corner or check with a set square; if the walls meet at anything other than a right angle, tell us the angle and the pole is bent to it.
- Check what is in the way. Radiators, window handles, a deep sill, and coving where the ceiling meets the corner, which limits how high a bracket can go and whether a ceiling fix is possible.
- Decide where the curtains stack. The corner itself cannot take a stack of fabric, so curtains draw away from it to the outer ends. Allow stack-back at each outer end so the glass clears when open; our stack-back and clearance guide gives the allowances.
The Cameron Fuller French / Corner pole is bent to your two wall lengths and your angle, in 19mm metal and any of eleven finishes, or colour-matched to the room. Two span bands cover most corners: up to 2.5m from £136.95, up to 4.0m from £161.95, complete with finials, brackets and rings. Longer runs are quoted individually.
Order online with your best measurements and we come back to you to confirm A, B and the angle before anything is cut. Allow 5 to 10 working days. Made-to-measure pieces cannot be returned, which is exactly why the confirmation step exists.
Fitting notes
- The corner bracket is not optional. The two halves of the pole meet at it, and it takes the load where the runs change direction. Fix it into something solid; on a stud wall, find the stud or use a proper cavity fixing.
- Passing brackets if the curtain crosses the corner. A standard bracket stops the rings; a passing bracket lets them through. Say which you need when we confirm the measurements. Our bracket spacing guide covers how many brackets each run needs.
- Draw the curtains away from the corner. Hang the leading edges to meet in the corner and the curtains to stack at the outer ends. Nothing stacks well on a bend.
- Two straight poles: keep the corner ends plain. Fit the smallest finial in the range at the corner ends, or none, so the two poles can sit as close as their brackets allow and the curtains meet with the smallest gap.
More than one corner? That is a bay
A window that turns two or more corners is a bay, and it is measured face by face rather than wall by wall. The bay window pole is bent to two, four or six angles, and the System 30 track bends round any number. Our bay window measuring guide takes it from there.
Common questions
Can you get a curtain pole that goes round a corner?
Yes. A corner curtain pole, sometimes called a French return pole, is a 19mm metal pole bent to the angle of your corner so it runs round it in one continuous line. It is made to your two wall lengths and your angle, supplied in two pieces with a bracket at the corner, and comes complete with finials, brackets and rings.
Can curtains draw round the corner on a pole?
On a bent corner pole fitted with passing brackets, yes: the rings travel past the brackets and round the bend, so one curtain or a pair can cross the corner. Eyelet curtains are the exception, because an eyelet cannot pass any bracket. For eyelets, use two straight poles that stop at the corner, or a track with a different heading.
What is a French return curtain pole?
The term is used for two things. Strictly, a French return is a pole whose ends bend back to the wall instead of finishing in a finial, so the curtain returns to the wall and blocks light at the edges. In UK practice it is also used for a pole bent to turn an internal corner. Cameron Fuller's French / Corner pole is the corner version: one line of pole, bent to your angle.
Do I need a bracket in the corner?
Yes. A corner pole is supplied in two pieces that meet at a central bracket on the angle. That bracket carries the join and stops the pole sagging where the two runs meet. The end brackets and any centre supports along the runs follow the usual spacing for a 19mm pole.
Is a track better than a pole for a corner window?
A hand-bendable track such as the Cameron Fuller System 30 is the simplest way round a corner: it is bent on site to the angle, fixes to the wall or the ceiling, carries up to 10kg per metre and lets any heading draw smoothly across. Choose a corner pole when the hardware is meant to be seen; choose a track when the curtain is the feature and the fitting should disappear.
How long does a corner curtain pole take?
A corner pole is bent to your measurements, so it takes 5 to 10 working days rather than the 2 to 5 for stock. We confirm both wall lengths and the angle with you before anything is cut, and because it is made for your window it cannot be returned unless faulty.